IRC: Camping Edition

My guys on a morning walk to collect shells.

So we went camping.  Just for one night, but that was all we needed.  IT WAS HOT.  I can handle camping: the bugs, horrible sleep in a tent, the bugs, cooking in a *modified* kitchen, and did I mention the bugs?  What I cannot handle all that well IS THE EXTREME HEAT. 

Read it carefully: allegedly it was 88* but felt like freaking 102* because of the 75% humidity.  I mean, really?  I grew up camping at the beach, in San Diego, America's Finest City (their words, not mine, but I stand behind that moto 100%).  There is NO WAY the temperatures even came close to 102*.  I swear to you that my bathing suit was wet from perspiring, not from swimming in the Chesapeake.  Ok, I will move on.  I just wanted everyone to know how disgustingly hot and sweaty it was.

The boys got to try their very first campfire s'mores.  They hated them.  Obviously.  Despite how bright this photo is, it was like 8:30pm and we actually got them to sleep not long after this.  Melatonin for the win!

Love our little camp stove!

So this blog is supposed to be about food, so I'll get to it.  We made some yummy coffeee on our percolator - we haven't quite figured out how to avoid a final mouthful of coffee grounds.  We'll keep trying.  What I REALLY want to talk about is the cast iron breakfast.  First I fried the bacon - cast irons are amazing conductors of heat and that delish bacon was done in minutes!  And not pictured?  The divine scrambled eggs made with a mixture of butter and bacon fat.  WHAAAT?  It was so stinking delish!!!  Added some cheese and we were all quite pleased with our meal.

The lads enjoying some eggs and backey!

Overall, a fun sweaty adventure made even more memorable by a night in a hotel in Virginia Beach!  Honestly, best way to finish up camping is a nice cool hotel room with a shower that doesn't require shower shoes!  We took the concierge's recommendation and went to Waterman's on the strip and YUM.

Here I go again with the heat.  We walked 14 blocks, in 100* heat to...eat outside?! I was a bit miffed but whatevs.  The wine was cold, the view was beautiful and we had a fun family night.  Owen ordered fish tacos because he is my adventurous eater and I LOVE IT.  All of it.

I mean.  He is the most adorable.  I love him.

So that is camping/VA Beach in a nutshell.  We will definitely be camping again this summer but we might try a mountain lake with the hopes that it won't be as hot?!  We also *might* need to invest in a larger tent!

Muffin Morning

So this week I signed up to bring snacks to Bible study.  I set my alarm, got up before the little men, and got to baking.  I have to say, the last time I was up before Thing 1 and Thing 2 was when we had to make a 6:10 AM flight out of Orange County.  So, yah, I never get up before them.  I spend the night up with them, so I figure I don't need to get up before them!  I actually got these delish muffins in the oven before I had to rescue the boys from their mini-jails!

Mr. O was super stoked to have "cut-cakes" for breakfast - I continue to roll with him thinking muffins are cupcakes without frosting.

Little El would LOVE to try out some muffins.  Alas, we have yet to start him on solids.  I believe the time is nigh and he will soon be out-eating my skinny little Owen!  Elliott is such a different little man!  I love seeing his little personality emerge: like when he threw his first temper tantrum because I wouldn't let him chew on a book.  Mean mommy.

Okay, on to the Chunky Banana Bran Muffins.  These babies are so delish and not too terrible on the Weight Watchers point system: only 6!  I love them!

Chunky Banana Bran Muffins

~ Barefoot Contessa At Home ~ Makes 24 muffins

Ingredients

2 cups unprocessed wheat bran

2 cups buttermilk, shaken

1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature (Even though my butter sat out all night it wasn't particularly soft.  I probs should have nuked it for a few seconds - it did not cream with the sugar all that well.)

1/2 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed

4 extra large eggs, at room temperature (Huh...I didn't do this part and I think this might have contributed to the butter/sugar conundrum.  It was very strange.)

3/4 cup unsulfered molasses

2 tsp grated orange zest

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 cups raisins

2 cups large-diced banana (aprox 2-3 bananas)

1 cup chopped walnuts

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350*.  Line muffin tins with paper liners (so, I've had a hard time the last two times I've made these muffins with getting them out of the liners.  There is always a ton of yummy deliciousness stuck to the liner.  I think the next time I make them I will spray the pan and see if they pop out).

Combine the bran and buttermilk and set aside.  Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on a high speed for about 5 minutes, until light and fluffy.  With the mixer on low, add the eggs, one at a time.  Scrape the bowl and then add the molasses, orange zest, and vanilla.  (The mixture will look curdled.)  Add the bran-buttermilk mixture and combine.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the flower mixture to the batter and mix just until combined.  Don't overmix it!  Fold in the raisins, bananas, and walnuts with a rubber spatula.

With an ice cream scoop or large spoon, fill the muffin cups full and bake for 25-30 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.  Cool in pans.

Bon Appetit!

New Breaky Fave

So this is my very favorite new face that Owen makes.  He makes it when he is thinking about his next move in life.  In this particular instance, he was thinking very hard about where he was going to throw his handful of acorns that we collected on our little hike in Shenandoah National Park.

 

We took Jeremy's parents on a little hike (ha!  look how flat this "hike" is - isn't it amazing??) and a picnic.  Owen LOVED hiking with Grandma and Grandpa and walking almost the entire 1.3 mile loop!

Little Mister even picked up a hiking stick that Grandpa carved his name into :) 

On this particular hike, Grandpa was the Dear Spotter - seriously.  My father-in-law has mad dear-spotting skills and pointed out about 5 deer.  And they are so not afraid of the human-kind.  This little guy walked right past us!

Owen and the ladies :)

Anyfood, the whole point of this post is to share a Pinterest success.  I had been wanting to try German Pancakes because they looked vaguely like my family's Curly Pancake recipe.  BUT, they are baked and not fried in shortening...which is the key ingredient in making Curly Pancakes curly and thus only made once in a blue moon.  Not only are they saturated in grease but the kitchen is a beast to clean up after frying all of that doughy goodness.  Enter baked-pancakes and you have a healthier version with very little clean-up! 

The German Pancakes were similar in consistency, super easy, and they received two thumbs up from both of my boys.  If I knew more about the science of food, I would play with the batter and figure out how to get a little different texture but I am completely clueless in that respect.  I guess I will wait for my mom to get here in a week and a half and see if we can come up with something!

German Pancakes

Source:  www.tastesbetterfromscratch.blogspot.com via Pinterest

Ingredients

3 eggs

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup flour

dash of salt

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 Tbsp butter

*Optional: dash or two of cinnamon - I am addicted to cinnamon in anything and everything!

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425*.  As oven pre-heats, put the butter in an ungreased 8 x 8 baking dish and place in oven, just until melted.  

Place the eggs, milk, flour, salt and vanilla in a blender; cover and process until smooth (I just whisked mine together in a bowl as I hate cleaning my blender). Pour batter into baking dish. Bake for 20 minutes or until edges are golden brown and puffy. 

When done, sprinkle generously with powdered sugar and serve with maple syrup. 

Happy Breakfast!

How fabulous is this heart-shaped stump?  I Heart it :)

 

Girlfriends' Weekend, Part 2

The girlfriends and I walked around a beautiful little lake after our fabulous lunch at the Creekside Cellars (see Part 1).  It was a perfect day!  Thanks Meg!

Oh my, it has been a while.  I fully intended for Part 2 to be published fairly close to Part 1, but the summer has made me lazy!  Oh wait, that is a lie.  I have been packing, jetting to California to meet my new niece, packing, going to the zoo, going to the pool, saying goodbye to old friends, and packing some more!  By this time next week, we will be official residents of Charlottesville, Virginia!  I cannot believe our last few weeks in Kansas are coming to a close!

Oatmeal Buttermilk Pancakes!

So to continue on the Girlfriends' Culinary adventure, Miss Meg made us the most amazing Buttermilk Oatmeal Pancakes - they were AMAZING.  Now, these are not healthy pancakes pretending to be the traditional pancakes, they definitely have a different flava flave. 

I would call them more nutty - I could eat them everyday!  Meg served them with real maple syrup, which I don't normally like.  But when I tried my version at home with some Log Cabin, I will say the maple syrup takes the cake on this one.  The fake stuff just didn't do it for me.  My mom would be proud :)

Oatmeal Buttermilk Pancakes 

Makes 16-20 pancakes

Combine in a large bowl:

2 C old-fashioned (or quick) oats

½ C flour plus 2 Tbsp (I used whole wheat)*

3 T sugar (Meg uses less)

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

Whisk together in a medium bowl, then add to dry ingredients:

2 ½ C Buttermilk (I used low fat)

2 large eggs

¼ C unsalted butter, melted

1 tsp vanilla extract

Whisk all together until blended, but some small lumps remain.  Batter can be made up to 1 day ahead.  Ladle batter by ¼ cupfuls onto hot skillet.  Cook until bottoms are golden brown and bubbles form on top, about 2 minutes.  Turn and cook another 2 minutes.

*Meg lives in Denver, thus this recipe is for high altitude.  We added a couple extra tablespoons of flour to make them a little thicker.  The recipe creates naturally thin, "lacy" pancakes and with the altitude, more flour is key. In case yours are too thin, feel free to add a couple extra TBSP of flour!

 

Shopping with the girlfriends.  Wish I could do this every Sunday afternoon!

Masterpiece!

Jeremy's Ebelskivers filled with mint chocolate chips!  It was also St. Patrick's day, thus the green was fitting!

And I don't mean Downton, which I am thoroughly obsessed with and totally disappointed it won't be back until January!!  Anyfood, one Christmas I couldn't take my eyes off of the Ebelskiver (round pancakes originating in Denmark) pans at Williams Sonoma.  Once I received said Ebelskiver pan I went to work trying my hand at these tasty filled pancakes.  Alas, I was discouraged as I couldn't get them right!  I inevitably would get the first batch right, but then the second batch I would burn the butter, which would then make the pancakes look burned, so I would try to turn them before they were cooked all the way through, and we would end up with flat rather than round Ebelskivers. 

But I finally had my *aha* moment - turn the temperature down to Medium.  DUH.  Seriously?  As an avid cook, how could I miss such an easy fix?!?!?!  Well, either way, the butter doesn't burn, the pancakes cook evenly because the outsides aren't burning, they are easier to flip over and fill, etc. 

My Ebelskivers filled with cinnamon chips - LOVE!

I think another contributing factor was that until now, I used the premade batter from WS.  Lucky me, I didn't have any left and had to make my own!  Scratch Ebelskiver batter is the way to go - so lovely and fluffy!  And easy!  And YES, they are delish.  Now, I don't think this recipe will be one my readers will try, so I am not going to take the time to write it all down!  But if you are interested, leave me a comment and I will happily forward it to you!

Owen wasn't quite sure at first what these round things were...he is a huge fan of the plain old flat pancakes...

Alas, he approved!  I think he preferred the "chock-it" version, however.  He LOVES chocolate.  He knows Nestle Tollhouse bags and chants "chock-it, I try it" until I eventually give him a few chips.  That kid has got my number!!

Can you blame me?!?!!?

I've Been Baking

I haven't been making may meals, but I have been baking up a storm...and my littlest test subject is a sucker for "cutcakes."  Lucky for me, anything baked in a cupcake liner qualifies as a cupcake in his book.  Including these amazing Double Coconut Muffins! 

 

Double Coconut Muffins

Adapted from www.smittenkitchen.com

Makes 10-12 regular sized muffins

Ingredients

1/2 cup coconut oil

3/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup wheat flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp table salt

1 cup plain yogurt, best if at room temperature (Smitten Kitchen calls for Greek yogurt but I didn't have any in the fridge.  I thought they were amazing with the plain stuff, but I bet they are even better with the Greek!) 

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg, best if at room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut, divided

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375*.  Line muffin tin with paper liners, or spray pan with non-stick spray.  (As a side note, Owen and I couldn't wait for the muffins to cool, and as such, we lost half of the muffins to the paper.  Best to wait for them to cool, otherwise there is an unnecessary waste of baked goodness!)

In a small pan, heat the coconut oil until JUST MELTED.  You don't want it hot.  I heated mine on medium-low and it worked perfectly.

In a medium bowl mix together the flours, baking powder, and salt.  Stir in 1/2 cup of the shredded coconut - you may have to use your fingers to break apart the coconut.  In a separate bowl, mix the yogurt, sugar, egg, vanilla and coconut oil.   Stir into dry ingredients.  Spoon mixture into muffin tins.  Sprinkle the remaining coconut over the muffins.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until tester comes out clean.  Move to rack to cool.

**If you are interested in variations, go to www.smittenkitchen.com.

AMAZING.

Fall, FINALLY!

I've been WAITING for yoga pants and sweatshirt weather and it is finally here!  Oh wait, no it isn't.  This finicky flip-flop weather is making KA-RAZY.  Last week the high (according to my car) was 49*, the next day it was 70* and by Monday, 78* - WHAT?  At least I've not put away my flips and shorts.

Anyhow, when it was actually fall-like last week, I made pumpkin scones - so delish!  I added dark cherries (from TJ's) instead of white chocolate chips and pecans.  I honestly believe they are magic scones as it turned Owen's frown upside down the morning I made them.  He was being a bit of a pill and rejecting all food (except for bananas of course) until I offered a pumpkin scone.  Maybe it was the sugar, but I am going to believe it was the pumpkin that soothed his little spirit!

Pumpkin Scones

From my dear friend Angela

Ingredients

2 cups flour
1/2 cups brown sugar
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter
1/3 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup solid packed pumpkin
1 tsp vanilla extract

Optional:
1/3 cup chopped white chocolate
1/4 cup chopped pecans
**I skipped these two and added 1/2 cup dried cherries.  For some bizzaro reason I just don't like chocolate for breakfast.  I know, crazy, right?

Instructions

Mix flour, sugar, spices, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.  Cut butter into small pieces and cut into flour.  Mixture should look like course crumbs.  In a separate bowl mix together the pumpkin, buttermilk and vanilla.  Add to flour mixture and mix until the dough comes together (don't over-mix).  Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead gently 3-4 times (until it comes together), and then shape/pat dough into a circle about 1 1/2 inches thick.  Slice in half and then cut each half into 3 equal pie-shaped wedges.  Alternatively, roll out and cut with a biscuit cutter.  Brush with egg glaze (1 egg beaten with 1 T mil), and sprinkle with sugar.  Bake on cookie sheet at #75* for 20 minutes.

On top of the delish pumpkin scones, we went to the most ghetto pumpkin patch! 

There was a crazy creepy petting zoo with piggies, chickens, turkeys, goats and calves.  The piggies were certainly aggressive.

The turkeys were just about as big as O - I invited them to dinner but they declined...

Owen was not fooled by the saddle sitting on a bale of hay instead of a horse...

"I think I'll take this one.  I can carry it all by myself!"

Jeremy was hesitant to put O on the tetanus tractor...

Little Man is about 2.5 feet! 

Just your typical Thursday morning...

Just kidding. I don't normally bake scones for breakfast on Thursday mornings. In fact, I don't normally bake at all. I tend to be totally impaired in the baking arena; I tend to forget an ingredient (crucial when baking) or I leave it in the oven not long enough or a tad too long. So I tend to avoid baking altogether and stick to the stuff you can't really mess up. Anyfood, I found this Cinnamon Scone recipe on Pioneer Woman and had to try it. I sent it to my sister (the consummate baker) and she made them over the weekend and raved. Thus, being a DONSA (Day of None Scheduled Activity - seriously, it is really called that) for Jeremy, I decided to bake, while he monitored Scooter.

"Can I get a little help here? I have no depth perception so I didn't know my noggin wouldn't fit through here..."

Sweet Cinnamon Scones
Makes 8 in the round


Ingredients
3 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
5 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (I recommend Penzey's Cinnamon - so delightful!)
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 whole egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup cinnamon chips (Now, my mom and sister cannot get these little gems in their super market, but the Midwest is chocked full of them. If you need some, let me know and I'll send you some! My mother-in-law used to be my supplier, but now that I am *lucky* enough to live in the middle of nowhere, I can buy them myself!)

Topping
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1-1 1/2 tsp heavy cream (I didn't have any heavy cream left, so I used a chunk of melted butter)

I'd like to give a shout out to my Helpy McHelperton!

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, mix together flour, 1/3 cup sugar, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, and baking powder. Cut butter into pieces, then cut into dry ingredients with a pastry cutter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in cinnamon chips.

Mix together cream, egg, and vanilla extract. Pour into flour/butter mixture, stirring gently with a fork to combine.

Turn onto work surface (mixture will be very crumbly and falling apart.) Gently press together on the sides as you flatten (or roll, with a rolling pin) the top. Form either into a large circle or a large rectangle. Mix together topping ingredients, stirring with a fork. Sprinkle over the top of the dough, lightly pressing.

Cut into wedges (from a circle) or triangles (from a rectangle.) Transfer to a cookie sheet and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Allow to cool completely. Serve with coffee.

I was a little freaked out at how large these suckers turned out and Jeremy wisely pointed out that they are "cowboy" size - per the Pioneer Woman :) Next time I will be rolling them into a rectangle and making them MUCH smaller. Mine were a little *too* flaky - and since I am a novice baker, I will be perfecting my craft and figuring out why!

Bon Appetit!

Mi Amore

Who wouldn't love this little stinker as their Valentine?! Man I love this little baby! He is so much fun right now! Especially because he is in hour 3 of his nap...which has only occurred because he got his 6 month shots today :( Seriously, though, he is rolling all over the place and reaching for just about everything. I can't wait until we can spend some quality time outside! Alas, spring is just around the corner according to Punxsutawney Phil (who apparently only has like a 30% accuracy rate at predicting the coming of Spring!).


Anyfood, for Valentine's Day last year my love took me to a fancy shmancy 6 course chocolate dinner at the Ritz in Georgetown - fabulous! And because the Ritz made a booking error with our room, they upgraded us to the penthouse suite which was bigger than our condo at the time!! We had a view of both the Potomac and M Street. The bathroom floors were heated, there was a HUGE bath tub complete with bubble bath, a kitchen, a living room, and an enormous dining room. Alas, this year we will be enjoying the day of love in Manhattan. Kansas.

At least I get to spend it with my boys!! And I will be making one of them the above toast and egg! How cute is that? And tasty! Our first Valentine's Day as man and wife I made cinnamon sticky buns...maybe I'll make those too!

What are you doing for V Day??

I'm spoiled.

First of all, check out those thighs!! I just want to eat them up! Every day we experience more and more baby chub and I LOVE IT!

Second of all, my dear sweet man loves to make me frittata - I don't know where this came from, but I'm not questioning it! He had been making one with potatoes and onions - but it gave me terrible indigestion, esp'lly while I was pregs. He found one on www.williams-sonoma.com and we are never turning back. It is A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. It makes enough for breaky and then dinner the next day - yummo!

Grilled Asparagus Frittata
From the Williams Sonoma Kitchen

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. asparagus, tough ends trimmed
• 1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 2 1⁄2 Tbs. unsalted butter
• 1 leek, white and light green portions, halved,
  thinly sliced and rinsed well
• 6 eggs
• 1⁄4 cup heavy cream
• 1⁄2 cup finely grated pecorino romano cheese
• 3 Tbs. finely chopped fresh chives
• 3 Tbs. minced fresh basil
• Crumbled goat cheese (chèvre) for garnish
  (optional)

Directions:

Using a vegetable peeler, peel the skin off the thick ends of the asparagus. In a bowl, toss the asparagus with the olive oil, salt and pepper.

Heat a grill pan over high heat. Place the asparagus on the pan and cook until tender and nicely grill-marked, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and cut into 2-inch pieces. Transfer to a plate.

In the deep half of a frittata pan over medium heat, melt 1 Tbs. of the butter. Add the leek and cook until soft and light golden, about 5 minutes. Transfer to the plate with the asparagus. Wipe out the pan with a paper towel.

In a bowl, whisk together the eggs and cream until frothy. Stir in the asparagus, leek, pecorino romano cheese, chives and basil, and season with salt and pepper.

In the deep half of the frittata pan over medium heat, melt 1 Tbs. of the butter. Add the egg mixture and cook until set, 7 to 10 minutes, using a rubber spatula to gently lift the cooked edges and allow the uncooked eggs to flow underneath. After 3 minutes of cooking, in the shallow half of the frittata pan over medium heat, melt the remaining 1/2 Tbs. butter.

Place the shallow pan upside down on top of the deep pan, then flip the frittata into the shallow pan and cook, covered, for 3 minutes. Remove the deep pan and continue cooking until the eggs are completely set and cooked through, about 5 minutes more.

Gently shake the pan to loosen the frittata, then slide it onto a serving plate. Garnish with goat cheese. Serves 8 to 10.

Williams-Sonoma Kitchen

J'adore anything French

For serious.    The J man and I are heading to Paris at the end of September and I cannot wait for crepes, baguettes with brie and cucumber, champagne, and macaroons.  But in the meantime, I will settle for French Toast Souffle.  And I'm really not settling - because it is absolutely excellent.  I'm not even kidding. I made this little gem for a girlfriend's baby shower and it was a hit.  It is not low cal - unless you have incredible self control of course - but it is totally worth it.  If you are watching your calories, I will include the Cooking Light version (boooo - you need to make the fully loaded version!!!!).

French Toast Souffle

Serves a ton - from my mom's kitchen

Ingredients

16 oz cream cheese (I actually only used 12 oz or a cube and a half of Philly 1/3 fat)

16 slices french bread (I used the freshly baked loaves from the bakery section of the grocery store - 1 lb of bread)

12 eggs

2 cups milk (I used nonfat milk)

1/2 cup pure maple syrup (my mom prefers Log Cabin because it has a little more fava flav)

1 teaspoon vanilla

Nutmeg

Cinnamon

Instructions

Remove crust and cube bread (if I were you, I'd leave the crust on, it makes it more rustic. It is best if the bread is a bit stale, so let it sit out for a bit after you cut it).  Layer 1/2 of the cubed bread in greased 9X13.  Cube cream cheese and place on bread.  Place remainder of bread on top of cream cheese.  Sprinkle 1st and 2nd layer of bread with nutmeg & cinnamon.  Mix together eggs, milk, syrup, and vanilla and pour over bread.  Cover and let stand over night in fridge.  Bake in preheated oven @ 375* for 45 minutes.

Cooking Light Version

Ingredients

10 cups bread

2/3 cup half & half

1/2 cup maple syrup

8 eggs

8 oz. cream cheese

powder sugar on top

1/2 tsp vanilla

Instructions

Beat cream cheese, add eggs, milk, 1/2 and 1/2, and pour over bread.  Refridge over night.  Remove from the fridge and let stand for 30 minutes.  Bake for 50 minutes at 375*.

Bon Appetit!

The Frittata Pan

When J and I were registering for our wedding, he insisted we register for a Calphlon Frittata Skillet from Williams Sonoma. Personally, I wasn't certain we would really use said kitchen accessory. For starters, I've never made a frittata, Jeremy certainly has never made a frittata, and I already had a 7 piece All-Clad set from mi madre. Thus, two more skillets (you heard me right - its a set) sounded a bit frivolous and we were quickly running out of cabinet space! Anyfood, his comrades at the Defense Appellate Division bought us the Frittata set and they have been stored these last 18 months under our couch (skillets, not comrades - no room in the cabinet!) What a mistake! And by that I mean I cannot believe we've waited this long to use them!

Jeremy decided one morning after soccer to whip up a frittata for me - and we didn't have to buy a thing, we had everything in the fridge! Yummo! This recipe is out of Martha's Great Food Fast (must have, so many great and easy recipes!)

Potato and Onion Frittata

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced

1 baking potato (8 ounces), peeled and thinly sliced (we used some Yukon gold potatoes)

1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, crumbled (we didn't have any rosemary, so we used thyme instead)

Coarse salt and fresh ground pepper

5 large eggs

5 large egg whites

1/2 cup whole flat-leaf parsley leaves (we actually had the curly kind)

Instructions

1. In a medium (10") nonstick broiler-proof skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, potato, and rosemary; season with salt and pepper, and toss to combine.

2. Cover the skillet, and cook for 10 minutes (oh yah, this is where we used the second skillet - so it did come in handy...although a lid would work just the same); uncover. Cook, tossing the mixture occasionally, until the onion and potato are tender, about 5 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg whites, parsley leaves, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

4. Heat the broiler with a rack set 4 inches from the heat. Add the remaining tablespoon oil to the vegetables in the skillet. Pour the egg mixture into the skillet.

5. Cook on the stove, over low heat, lifting the mixture a few times around the edges with a spatula to let egg flow underneath. Continue cooking until the frittata is almost set int eh center, about 10 minutes.

6. Place the skillet under the broiler; broil until the frittata is set and the top is lightly golden, about 3 minutes. Run a clean spatula around the edges to loose, then slide the frittata out onto a serving plate an cut into wedges.

Bell Pepper Saute

2 bell peppers, red, yellow, or both

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 small red onion, diced

Coarse salt and fresh ground pepper

Remove the seeds and ribs from the peppers; cut lengthwise into strips and halve crosswise. Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the peppers and onion; season with slat and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the peppers are just tender, about 1o minutes.

Sticky Gooey Goodness

Really? Seriously?! These were amazing!! For Valentine's Day I made my honey some homemade cinnamon buns - delish! My cousin Jamie recommended "The New Best Recipe" cookbook brought to us by the people of America's Test Kitchen (PBS)...thank you JJ - LOVE. As many of you know, I love reading cookbooks like they are novels...this cookbook takes the cake! For each recipe the testers/recipe writers go through all of the different tests they did to perfect the recipe and literally make it the New Best Recipe - love it. For example, the testers wanted to create a cinnamon bun that was not made with yeast - an easier, less time consuming option than cinnamon rolls that have yeast and require a stand alone mixture. Anyfood, these were delish and we ate more than one...

Quick Cinnamon Buns with Buttermilk Icing

1 tbsp unsalted butter, melted, for greasing the pan (get ready for a boat load of divine butter - everything is better with butter)

CINNAMON-SUGAR FILLING

3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 tsps ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp ground cloves

1/8 tsp salt

1 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

BISCUIT DOUGH

2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the work surface (oh my, I should have a picture of my absolute melt down I had b/c the dough was clinging to my hands and the work surface - so much so that I wasn't able to need the dough - so I would recommend using more flour then you think for the work surface!)

2 tbsps granulated sugar

1 1/4 tsps baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/4 cups buttermilk

6 tbsps (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled (I wasn't kidding about all the butter that makes it so much better)

ICING

2 tbsps cream cheese, softened

2 tbsps buttermilk

1 cup confectioners' sugar (fancy name for powdered sugar)

1. Adjust an over rack on the upper-middle position and heat the oven to 425*. Pour 1 tbsp melted butter into a 9" nonstick cake pan; brush to coat the pan. Spray a wire cooling rack with nonstick cooking spray set aside.

2. For the cinnamon sugar filling: Combine the sugars, spices, and slat in a small bowl. Add the melted butter and stir with a fork until the mixture resembles wet sand; set the filling mixture aside.

3. For the biscuit dough: Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk the buttermilk and 2 tablespoons of the melted butter in a measuring cup or small bowl. Add the liquid to the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon until the liquid is absorbed (the dough will look very shaggy), about 30 seconds. Transfer the dough to a lightly (or heavily) floured work surface and knead until just smooth and no longer shaggy. (I finally got to use my birch pastry board - glorious! Thank you Slay fam!!)

4. Pat the dough with your hands into a 12 x 9" rectangle. Brush the dough with 2 tablespoons of the melted butter (are your arteries clogged just reading this!?). Sprinkle evenly with the filling, leaving a 1/2" boarder of plain dough around the edges. Press the filling firmly into the dough. Using a bench scraper or metal spatula, loosen the dough from the work surface. Starting at the long side, roll the dough, pressing lightly to form a tight log. Pinch the seam to seal. Roll the log seam-side down and cut it evenly into 8 pieces. With your hand, slightly flatten each piece of dough to seal the open edges and keep the filling in place. Place 1 roll in the center of the prepared nonstick pan, the place the remaining 7 rolls around the perimeter of the pan. Brush with the remaining 2 tbsps melted butter (and no, I'm not kidding).

5. Bake until the edge of the buns are golden brown, 23 - 25 minutes (let me just tell you, when I pulled these babies out the filling was bubbly and amazing looking!). Use an offset metal spatula to loosen the buns from the pan. Wearing oven mitts, place a large plate of the pan and invert the buns on to the plate (which is pretty painless because there is so much stinking delicious butter). Place the cooling rack over the plate and invert the buns onto the rack. Wahla! (The picture above is of the inverted buns sans icing - they were prettier without the icing - but do not, I repeat, do not omit the icing. YUM.) Cool about 5 minutes before icing.

6. For the icing and to finish the buns: While the buns are cooling, line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper (for easy cleanup - which I generally do not handle. Our family rule is if I cook it, he cleans it :); set the rack with the buns over the baking sheet. Whisk the cream cheese and buttermilk in a large nonreactive bowl until thick and smooth (the mixture will look like cottage cheese at first). Sift the confectioners sugar over the mixture; whisk until a smooth glaze forms, about 30 seconds. Spoon the glaze evenly over the buns. SERVE IMMEDIATELY - like that even needs to be said!

Bon appetit!